List and discuss the major areas of the fieldwork/data collection process

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

All fieldwork involves the selection, training, and supervision of persons who collect data. The validation of fieldwork and the evaluation of field workers are also parts of the process.

The first step in the fieldwork process is the selection of field workers. The researcher should: 1. develop job specifications for the project, taking into account the mode of data collection; 2. decide what characteristics the field workers should have; and 3 . recruit appropriate individuals. Interviewers' background characteristics, opinions, perceptions, expectations, and attitudes can affect the responses they elicit.

The training of field workers is critical to the quality of data collected. Training may be conducted in person at a central location or, if the interviewers are geographically dispersed, by mail, video-conferencing, or by using the Internet. Training ensures that all interviewers administer the questionnaire in the same manner so that the data can be collected uniformly.

Supervision of field workers means making sure that they are following the procedures and techniques in which they were trained. Supervision involves quality control and editing, sampling control, control of cheating, and central office control.

Validation of fieldwork means verifying that the field workers are submitting authentic interviews. To validate the study, the supervisors call 10 to 25 percent of the respondents to inquire whether the field workers actually conducted the interviews. The supervisors ask about the length and quality of the interview, reaction to the interviewer, and basic demographic data. The demographic information is cross-checked against the information reported by the interviewers on the questionnaires.

It is important to evaluate field workers to provide them with feedback on their performance as well as to identify the better field workers and build a better, high-quality field force. The evaluation criteria should be clearly communicated to the field workers during their training. The evaluation of field workers should be based on the criteria of cost and time, response rates, quality of interviewing, and quality of data.